Your 10-Chinup Challenge

Stop hiding at the lat-pulldown machine. You know the chinup is the best exercise for your back. Practically every fitness book and article proclaims it the granddaddy of back exercises. Yet men avoid it for one reason: It's hard.

Athletes in Winchester, Massachusetts, think chinups are tough, too. But there, nearly all the men and women can do a chinup with more weight than they can bench-press. (They attach weight plates to a dip belt to add pounds.)

Okay, not all athletes in town can do it -- only those coached by Michael Boyle, M.A., ATC. "It's amazing what a lost art the chinup is, when you see how well it works," says Boyle. Here's his plan for raising body to bar, over and over again.

Step 1: Test Your Pulling Power

Do as many chinups as you can. Start from a full hang, hands shoulder-width apart, palms toward you. Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar and lower yourself to the starting position.

Step 2: Set The Bar High

If you can't do one chinup, then that's your initial goal. Aim for one more chinup every week. If you did five, strive for 10 by the fifth week.

How to do the Workouts

These exercises develop the back and arm strength necessary to lift your body weight. Rest 3 minutes between sets. Do each workout once a week, resting 2 days between sessions.

Workout 1

Chinup

Perform your maximum number of chinups, which you determined in step 1. Rest, then do another set of one less than your max. Perform a third set of two less than your max.

Dumbbell Row

Grab a pair of heavy dumbbells with an underhand grip, knees slightly bent. With your torso almost parallel to the floor, pull one weight up until your elbow is higher than your torso, then lower it. Do three sets of six reps per arm.

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Biceps Curl

Hold dumbbells at arm's length, palms forward. Keeping your upper arms against your sides, curl the weights toward your shoulders. Squeeze your biceps at the top, then lower the weights. Do three sets of six reps.

Workout 2

Parallel-Grip Pullup

Grab the parallel bars of a pullup bar so your hands face each other. Do one set of as many pullups as you can. Perform a second set of one less than your maximum from set one. Then do a third set of two repetitions less than your max.

Inverted Row

At a Smith machine, grab the bar overhand. Keeping your body straight, pull your chest to the bar, then lower yourself. Do one set of as many reps as you can. Do one less rep than your max for the second set, and two less for the third.

Hammer Curl

This is the same as the biceps curl, but hold the dumbbells with a neutral grip (palms facing each other). Do three sets of six repetitions using the heaviest weight you can handle with perfect form.

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